16 Replies from Mentors

It is important for you to gain a global perspective on the world. When you learn about others’...

It is important for you to gain a global perspective on the world. When you learn about others’
situations, it really makes you appreciate (or in some cases question) the values you were raised
with and help you grow as an individual.
Even at home, I try to surround myself with diversity in gender, race, class and other experiences
so I can become a more complete person. It’s easy to be biased and narrow-minded if you do not know
much about others. But if you make the conscious choice to learn about others experiences and
appreciate them, you will become a much better person and understand the world better. To me it’s
not about simply tolerating other people, it’s about understanding them and learning from them,
even
if you do not necessarily agree with their positions.
Also you can share your perspective with others and help breakdown their stereotypes. As an
African American I often see images portrayed in the media of my race that do not necessarily align
with my ideals or what I actually see in my community. When traveling to other places, you might be
the first American natives have seen in real-life. You have the power to dispel false perceptions
and fight intolerance, even if you don’t think so.

Students of Color, primarily through my experiences do not travel as often as their White...

Students of Color, primarily through my experiences do not travel as often as their White
counterparts. It is important for these students to visit other cultures
abroad so that a sense of identity and appreciation can be established
not only for their own ethnicity, but for the citizens of the host
country they decide to visit. Enabling students of color to travel
abroad will help alleviate grounded stereotypes and misconceptions about
race and culture. This experience will also enable the students to think
"outside the box" in terms of employment and research opportunities
abroad.

Traveling to places with different histories and experiences meant that many of the racialized...

Traveling to places with different histories and experiences meant that many of the racialized
identities which were imposed upon me in the U.S. were not ingrained into the discourses of Mexico
and Japan. Racism does exist in other societies, but being black in the U.S. means something
different from being black in Japan or Mexico.

From a Latin@ perspective, I feel it is very important for students from diverse backgrounds to go...

From a Latin@ perspective, I feel it is very important for students from diverse backgrounds to go
and see what’s out there. For those of us who are the first generation in the US we may feel that
our parents came to this country for a good reason; to an extent we feel obligated to stay here
because they came here to provide us with a better life. But in reality, there’s so much more to
the world than the US. It gives us a larger perspective as to the different cultures and people
that live on this planet. Usually in the states we’re looked at as the foreigners-people are
trying to figure out our culture. Its interesting when dynamics change and you’re the one trying
to figure out the other culture because you don’t understand it. Being an ‘other’ here in the US
has definitely made me more open and willing to immerse myself in a completely different culture.
My mindset wasn’t like ‘I’m an American, I’m better’ but ‘let me try to live like you’.